Device



(No Model.) i 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

W. AKIN.

A AUTOMATIC ADVERTISING DEVI-GE. I1 N0- 309,182 Patented Deo. 16, 1.884.

z sheets-*SMSI (No Model.) W. AKIN.

AUTOMATIC ADVERTISING DEVICE.

No. 309,182. Pafented Deo. 16,' 1884.

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VILLIAM AKIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATBC ADVERTISING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 309,182, dated December16, 1884.

Application filed December 20, 1883. (No model.) Patented in EnglandDecember l2, 1882, No. 5,937.

To @ZZ whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM ARIN, ofthe city of New York, in the countyand State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Automatic Advertising Devices; and I hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description there oi', reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, on two sheets, which :form a part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in an automatic advertisingTapparatus, for which Letters Patent of the United States, No. 268,595,were granted to me on the 5th day of December, 1882, which saidapparatus consists of mechanism attached to an ordinary clock to displaya number of advertisements consecutively, and each for a iixed period oftime.

My present invention consists in certain improved constructions vofparts oi' the apparatus, as hereinafter particularly set forth anddescribed.

In the accompanying drawings, on Sheet No. 1, Figure l represents anexterior i'ront view of my improved advertising apparatus; Fig. 2, afront elevation of the same, with the i'ront cover or door removed, andFig. 3 a vert-ical section on the line fr x. On Sheet No. 2, Fig. 4L isa front elevation, Fig. 5 a side elevation, and Fig. (5 a top view, ofmy improved mechanism, and Figs. 7 to l1, inclusive, are detailshereinafter referred to and explained.

Siniilarletters of reference indicate the same parts in all the severaliigures.

A represents the case i'or holding the mechanism. Ordinarily I attachsaid mechanism to a clock-case, but other suitable case or frame may beemployed.

B is the clock movement 0r motor, which determines the length of timeduring which each of the advertisingsheets is to be displayed, and whichactuates the escapement the following parts, namely: a is a leverpivoted at its rear end, a', to the frame of the clock-work I3, or othersuitable support above andin line with a wheel, b, having ratchet-teeth.This lever a is provided with a ratchet-tooth, c, which engages with theteeth or the wheel b, and attached to said lever, at a short distancefrom its free end, is a stud, ai, through which the connecting-rod el ispassed. The connecting-rod cl is connected at its lower end to the freeend of a second lever, e, which is pivoted at its rear end to the frameof the clock-work or motor F, so that whenever the lever c is raised byits ratchettooth c engaging with the teeth of the wheel b the lever c is.correspondingly raised.. Upon this lever c is provided a stop-pin, f. Afly, g, consisting of a straight bar, is fixed at a short distance fromits center upon a shaft, h. of the clock-work F, upon which said shaftis also a pinion which is driven, through the medium of suitablegearing, by the spring-wheel i. This fly y is provided with pins j andj', one at each end, which are placed in such relative position thatwhen the stop-pin f stands at a certain point and the lyg is rotated,the pin j will pass over the same and the pin j will come in contacttherewith, and when it is raised so that the pinj will come in contacttherewith, the pin j will pass underneath the same. The rod d isprovided'with adjustingscrews el', for adjusting the distance betweenthe levers a and c, and with a loop, d2, to impart flexibility thereto.The op eration of this escapement is as follows: IVhen the lever c is atits lowest position and its ratchet-tooth c at the lowest point betweenthe teeth of the wheel b, the pin j rests against the stop-pin f,thereby stopping the ily. It is shown in this position in Fig. 10.`When, by the rotation of the wheel b, the ratchettooth e has been raisedone-half way up one of the teeth of said wheel,the lever e will havebeen raised a suflicient distance to allow the pin j to pass underneaththe stop-pinf, thus releasing the iiy, which latter will make ahalf-revolution and be again stopped by the pin j coming against thestoppin. (See Fig.

1l.) Vhen, by the continued rotation of the wheel b, the ratchettooth chas been brought over the summit of the tooth,the levers (being thenunsupported) will immediately drop to IOO their lowest position, therebypermitting the pinj to pass over the stop-pin f, and the fly will thenmake another half-revolution, at the completion of which it will beagain stopped by the pin j coming in contact with f. These operationsare repeated as each tooth of the wheel b passes underneath theratchet-tooth c. The drum C is fixed upon a shaft, which is connectedwith the same train as the fly g, so that it rotates simultaneously withthe fly, and at each movement of the latter another advertising-sheet isbrought into view in place of the one which was displayed while the flywas at rest.

The second of my improvements (which, however, I do not cla-im as partof the invention) consists in devices for adapting the ap paratus to beused in store-windows at night and in dimly-lighted places by throwing astrong light upon the advertising-sheets as they are being displayed.For this purpose I employ a lamp, k, (or as a modification thereof agas-jet may be used,) which I placein the vacant space in the upper partof the case A, as shown in Fig. 3, upon any suitable support. misareflector of any suitable material, secured in proper position to throwthe light from the lamp or gasjet upon the sheet that is beingdisplayed; and Z is a pipe or flue, the upper end of which extends abovethe top of the case forthe purpose of carrying off the heat and smoke.rlhat portion A of the cover or door of the case A which is opposite thedrum and the lamp is opaque, and the lower portion, A2, opposite theextended. sheet D, is transparent. By these means the apparatus may beused in dimly-lighted places, as the advertisements are made legible bythe strong light thrown upon them.

The third of my improvements' consists in improved devices for throwingthe mechanism that operates the drum out of gear for any desired lengthof time-as, for instance, during the night-season. a is a wheel drivenby the clock-work B, and geared to make one revolution in twenty-fourhours. Upon its shaft is a segmental shoulder or cam, o, the front edgeot' which is beveled, as at o. A fine spring, p, is attached to the sideof the lever a at p', through the free end of which said lever is passeda pin, r, which is fitted to slide freely back and forth at right anglesto the plane of the Vwheel a, and is Vpressed inward by the spring p.rIhe segmental cam o is proportioned circumferentially to the wheel ln,according` to the length of time it is desired the drum shall remain atrest, as described in the Letters Patent above mentioned.

The essential features of this improvement consists in substituting theoscillating pin 1' in place of the spring marked Q in the draw^ ing insaid Letters Patent, which latter was attached to the lever and was notsufficiently pliant, but had a tendency to stop the clockwork when itcame in contact with the cam; but by making the contact-point (or pin r)and arranging it to operate as above described,

this difficulty is entirely avoided. In Fig. 8 this device is showndetached on an enlarged scale.

The fourth of my improvements relates to the construction of the drum C.rlhe ends of said drum are constructed to form projecting annularflanges s s, and upon said flanges the clips t are secured by which theadvertisingsheets are held. These clips are made in the form shown inFig. 9, being of steel or of springbrass, and secured at their rear endsby screw-nails, as at t', and havinga pin, t?, on their under side,which passes 'through a slot in the periphery of the drum. By means ofthis construction the sheets can readily be placed inposition or removedby pressing upon said pins to raise the front edges of the clips. A.central shaft, a, passes through the drum, one end of which has bearingsin an adjustable sleeve, II, attached to the caseA, as shown in Fig. 2,and near its opposite end is secured a disk, u', having a pin, it, nearits periphery. This disk andthe shaft are secured to the drum by anysuitable means. A second disk, ai, secured at the end of a shaft, y,which is driven through the medium of suitable gearing by thespring-wheel t'. The end pf the shaft y is mortised to form a bear'- ingfor the drum-shaft u, as shown in Fig. 7, and the disk a2 is providedwith a slot, ai', to receive the pin z, so that the drum C is rotated bythe shaft 1y. l l are sheets'of met-al, attached to the backs of thesheets D to insure their being carried over the top of the drum, so asto drop at the proper time, and 2 is a spring attached at its rear endto the back of the case A, the free end of which presses on the sheets Dfor the purpose of preventing their being carried over the drumprematurely.

That I claim as my invention is- Y l. The escapement herein described,composed of the ratchet-wheel b, the lever a, provided with theratchet-tooth c, the lever e, provided with the stop-pin f, and theeccentrically-pivoted ily g, provided with the pins j and j', the wholeconstructed substantially as described.

2. In combination with the Wheel a, rotated as described, the beveledsegmental cani o, spring p,- attached to the lever erfand pin r, fittedto slide in the end of said lever c, all as shown and described.

The drum C, constructed with projecting redges s, and provided with theclips't, said clips being secured to said drum by screwnails, andprovided with the pins t2, adapted to pass through. a slot in the drumand hold the sheets, as shown and described.

4. In combination with the drum C and its shaft a, the adjustablebearing H, the disk a', having pin t, and disk a2, fitted on theniortised shaft y, and provided with slot at, as shown and described,for the purpose set forth. Witnesses: WILLIAM AKIN.

M. I-LTOPPING, JOHN S. THORNTON.

IOS

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